Experience of the menopause
Women and trans men experience a variety of menopause symptoms which can impact them at work in a number of ways. Employers must understand and speak openly about these symptoms in order to ensure that support is available.
Not just hot flushes
Hot flushes are typically thought of as synonymous with menopause. However, less than half (45%) of respondents reported that hot flushes were ‘extremely’ or ‘quite’ bothersome. The most commonly reported physical symptom was tiredness (77%), followed by night sweats (51%) and aches and pains in muscles and joints (48%).
Figure 1: Other physical symptoms for menopausal employees are more common than hot flushes
Non-physical symptoms are just as common
Among menopausal employees non-physical symptoms were reported to be just as, or more, bothersome than physical symptoms, contrary to stereotypical depictions of the menopause. The most commonly reported were difficulty sleeping (69%), anxiety and worry (63%) and problems with recall (58%).
Figure 2: Non-physical symptoms are as prevalent as physical ones
Reality of the menopause Key facts that women wanted to be better known.
Menopause can happen to women under 50 "Menopause can also happen to younger people, this isn't an old lady issue. I think there is still quite a lot of that bias out there." Middle manager at accounting firm
Menopause symptoms can last for a longer period of time “I think I ended up having 9 weeks off of work because I was quite bad but then it was just assumed when I went back ‘Oh Sophie’s2 fine, everything is okay, just crack on with where we left off’. No, your menopause isn’t a 9 week window and then it’s all done.” Middle manager at bank
Menopause does not only cause physical symptoms “I think the general feeling is that women just go through a period having hot flushes, that you get hot and then you cool down and that’s it, that’s as much as anyone knows. They don’t realise that there are all these other symptoms that go with that and how debilitating they can be for people.” Senior manager at bank
Menopause is not the same for everyone “There’s a belief from everybody - and that includes me before I went through it - that its natural, it’s just part of life, it might be mildly inconvenient but women just need to suck it up. And it is in the same way that tooth decay is a natural part of life and we don’t have our teeth removed without anaesthesia... You can’t put everybody in one bucket and say ‘everybody just get on with it’. Some people need a bit more help and understanding.” Middle manager in insurance
Many women do not know they are going through the menopause "If I'd known what I was going through, I may have chosen not to stand down from our senior leadership team. I just thought I couldn't hack it anymore, I was no good at my job, and I chose to stand down." Middle manager in banking (former senior leader)
2 Name changed